Congo Ebola outbreak nears 2018 record in just 10 weeks

Congo's Ebola outbreak has reached 3,262 confirmed cases in just 10 weeks. The rapid spread, lack of approved treatment and insecurity are straining the response.Confirmed cases in Congo's ongoing Ebola outbreak have risen to 3,262, according to an overnight update from the country's Ministry of Health. The total is now close to the 2018-2020 outbreak, the largest ever recorded in the country.Health ministry data showed that 1,437 people have died in the current outbreak, which officials have described as the fastest Ebola outbreak on record. The outbreak is centred in eastern Ituri province and continues to spread faster than health officials can contain it.The 2018-2020 outbreak in Congo and neighbouring Uganda lasted about two years and recorded more than 3,400 cases, including over 2,200 deaths, according to the US Centers for Disease Control. Only the 2014-2016 outbreak in West Africa had a higher toll, with 28,000 cases and more than 11,000 deaths.The pace of transmission in the current outbreak has raised concern among residents, with many saying communities in the affected provinces are either unreachable or have been left without response teams in recent days because of safety concerns amid attacks by angry residents and rebels. “The fact that, in just 10 weeks, we have reached nearly the same number of cases recorded over an almost two-year outbreak is alarming and should stop us in our tracks,” Onesphore Bangenza, Mercy Corps response team lead in Bunia, Ituri's capital, said on Tuesday. “There is no doubt that the virus is moving faster than we can contain it,” Bangenza added. The outbreak, declared on May 15, is different from most previous Ebola outbreaks because the Bundibugyo virus behind it has no approved vaccines or treatments. Efforts to slow transmission have also been hit by rebel violence in eastern Congo and by strikes by health workers protesting non-payment of wages.A major challenge for the response is that patient zero has not yet been identified. Displacement caused by armed conflict and illegal mining in the region has also made it difficult to trace thousands of people who came into contact with infected individuals. While there was distrust between communities and health workers in the early stages of the outbreak, some signs of progress have appeared. “We can never again wage war against the Ebola teams. We have lost members of our families. As a community, we have a vested interest in fighting Ebola to return to normal life,” said Fabrice Mumbesa, a resident of Mongbwalu, a mining town at the centre of the outbreak where residents had earlier burned several treatment centres.With 3,262 confirmed cases and 1,437 deaths so far, the outbreak in Ituri has nearly matched Congo's biggest Ebola outbreak in case numbers within 10 weeks, even as officials struggle with insecurity, unpaid health workers, and difficulties in reaching and tracing affected communities.With PTI Inputs- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Jul 28, 2026 15:36 IST